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Inside a Dutch House

Yep, it’s autumn. The temperature in my Dutch home is 18c right now, which is not exactly great when I am experiencing flu and shivering already. This is the time of the year when I wish I was living in a Finnish house (because in Finland the houses are designed to stay warm).

Many interns who have moved to the Netherlands have been complaining about different problems with their Dutch homes, most of the problems being related to low indoor temperature, drafty rooms, and moist and moldy walls. Some of my friends have even had mice in their apartments! Me, I’ve just had big hairy spiders.

Dutch homes have features that for a Finn (or other European) may seem pretty odd. The first thing that comes to many visitors’ mind would be the narrowness and steepness of Dutch staircases! These staircases could in my opinion be even called death traps, as taking one wrong step can lead to bad injury.

On the other hand, the Dutch like to build upwards and houses often have either long and narrow gardens (well what wouldn’t be long and narrow here) or amazing terraces located on the roofs. I am a little jealous because many of my friends and even my upstairs neighbors have these types of terraces whereas I have a dirty plastic bench and a stinky rubbish bin instead of a terrace, haha.

One funny thing about living in a Dutch home is that our rubbish seems to be collected only once a week, at least here where I live. Bio waste they don’t even collect here, so you have to take it to a recycling point by yourself. Recycling plastic bottles is similar to Finland, you take your bottles to the local supermarket and get money back for each 1,5L bottle you’ve recycled! That’s pretty cool.

The Dutch kitchen has two “very important” features; the potato masher (because the locals like mashed food) and the typical Dutch cheese slicer, which is also quite common in Scandinavia but not elsewhere in Europe.

What about the Dutch toilets… Oh gosh, I am not going to even start! If you’ve never experienced one, be happy. If you really want to know what I am talking about, go check google. These can be found in almost every Dutch home and I think they are disgusting! Aparently they are for “studying your waste”, but I will not say anything else.

We all know the stereotype of the Dutch decorating with flowers and glogs, but something you don’t necessarily know is the fact that many people like to keep identical decorative items on their windowsills. Seriously, at least every third house I walk past has the same thing. It might be two identical candles, two identical lamps etc.. Aparently it’s because “hey, these are on offer! Two for one!”

Being a part of Model UN sounds so interesting, wow! You’ve been lucky to have visited a local family. I think it’s one of the best ways to experience and understand a new culture. Maybe that’s also why I really like Sri Lanka, because of the connection I got to have with the locals and their lives.

I had to google the Dutch toilet thing….. Have been to The Netherlands twice but have not seen one with an inspection shelf. But if I visit again, I will be sure to look out for one, or will I? I am not sure!!!

Anna

A 24-year-old Finnish-English traveler, sharing stories from the rainforests of Borneo to the beaches of Sri Lanka, and from the Sahara desert all the way to the Arctic circle.Current location: The Netherlands